From the Proust Questionnaire: Part Un

Anyone who has ever read an issue of Vanity Fair is no doubt familiar with the Proust Questionnaire, a series of questions once asked by the famed writer Marcel Proust himself. Since the magazine has embarked on the trend of featuring the questionnaire, everyone from Karl Lagerfeld to Lee Radziwell has completed the survey. I thought it would be interesting to pose the same questions to my best friend, and fellow blogger and bibliophile, Emily. Emily and I have also considered tackling Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" next year, so it seemed especially fitting that she would participate. And be sure to check out her blog, http://bucketofparts.blogspot.com/, which is a revered blog on life after an organ transplant (with posts on books, the ballet, art, and more sprinkled in for good measure).

Proust believed that the questionnaire provided insight into the private thoughts and feelings of friends, associates, et al.

This is the first installment from the questionnaire, so we'll see if he was correct.

The Fashion Vagabond:

1. What is your most marked characteristic? My sense of style

2. What is the quality you most like in a man? Intelligence, especially being well-read

3. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Grace

4. What do you most value in your friends? Support

5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Being a consummate perfectionist

6. Favorite occupation? writer and editor

7. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Walking the Popple (my much beloved chihuahua)

8. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Not having the desire to travel and see the world

9. In which country would you like to live? England (again!)

10. Who are your favorite writers? Iris Murdoch, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, Paul Theroux, Joseph Epstein, Robin Givhan, Dostoevsky, Sylvia Plath, Plum Sykes

11. Who are your favorite poets? Anne Bradstreet, Czeslaw Milosz, Ovid, Christina Rossetti

12. Who is your favorite hero of fiction? the White Rabbit

13. Who is your favorite heroine of fiction? Clarissa Dalloway

14. Favorite composers? Beethoven, Mozart, Hayden, Tschaikovsky, Schubert

15. Favorite painters? Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, El Greco

Emily:

1. What is your most marked characteristic? My voice

2. What is the quality you most like in a man? Dependability

3. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Kindness

4. What do you most value in your friends? Loyalty

5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? my impatience

6. Favorite occupation? opera singer

7. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Being able to stay at home, write, and practice music all day. And perform at night.

8. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? nothing

9. In which country would you like to live? England

10. Who are your favorite writers? Austen, Dickens, Jodi Picout, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, Alexander McCall Smith, Richard Paul Evans, Gregory Maguire, Virginia Woolf

11. Who are your favorite poets? Shakespeare,Oscar Wilde, Christina Rossetti, John Milton, Dante

12. Who is your favorite hero of fiction? Mr. Darcy

13. Who is your favorite heroine of fiction? Elizabeth Bennet

14. Favorite composers? Beethoven, Rachmanioff, Barber, Verdi, Phillip Glass, Frank Wildhorn

15. Favorite painters? Vermeer, Renoir

Monday Morning Rituals

We all have our Monday morning rituals, whether that be by beginning the day with a cup of coffee, skimming the NYT online, or listening to NPR en route to the office. My Monday morning routine encompasses all of these things, but my Monday morning ritual is a bit different.


I cannot begin the day until I have checked Vogue.com's weekly Ten Best Dressed list. The list, which is compiled by Style Director Alexandra Kotur, usually appears online early in the morning each Monday, unless there was a big event that week which could possibly keep Ms. Kotur otherwise engaged. Such was the case during the week of the Costume Institute Gala. I was without my best dressed list for well over a week. I don't know how I managed to function. Fear not, though. Ms. Kotur always atones by providing us with an extra-long list for said functions, like the Oscars and, of course, the Galas.


I love this weekly list because it provides a brief snapshot into the world of last week's glamorous parties, store openings, art gallery shows, premiers, and more. Models, actors, socialites, Vogue editors, and the occasional random person that even I haven't heard of grace the list. Sometimes I like to joke that the list should be renamed the Nine Best Dressed...and Lauren Santo Domingo because she appears more often on the list than anyone else. Even Vogue resident International Best Dressed List appointee (Vanity Fair's iconic best dressed list and the one that everyone wants to be on), Marina Rust Conor, does not appear on the list as often as LSD. In fact, I do not even recall seeing Anna herself on the list as frequently as LSD.


So, who made the list this week, you ask? Well, Lauren Santo Domingo (in Carolina Herrera) and nine other young ladies including Sienna Miller (in a rather pedestrian outfit of denim, a white t-shirt, and black blazer), model Natasha Poly (in Alexander Wang), rock daughter Zoe Kravitz, model Arlenis Sosa (in Herve Leger), British model Erin O'Connor, model Liya Kebede (in Stella McCartney), Kate Moss (on the list almost as often as LSD), and Giovanna Battaglia (the person I'm not familiar with this week). The theme was "keeping it casual," so perhaps that is why many of the outfits were a little understated. I didn't see any stand-out ensembles, though I was quite taken with what Ms. Battaglia was sporting.


Be sure to check out next week's list! The list, which can be found at http://www.vogue.com/, is updated every Monday and has its own heading (Best Dressed) on the web page. Now that I have checked the list, I can safely and calmly proceed with the rest of my day. Phew.


(** photo credit: Vogue's website at http://www.style.com)

Fashion: reality or fantasy?

I just read the November 4th transcript to the NPR discussion with Cindi Lieve, the editor in chief of Glamour, and Robin Givhan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic for The Washington Post. The conversation was titled "Should fashion reflect fantasy or reality?" with the emphasis on the newly energized debate of thin versus curvy runway models. The implication by both commentators seemed to be that fashion is currently projecting fantasy with the influx of very thin models, as opposed to mimicking the reality that most women are heavier than runway models.

I am not at all bothered by the idea of plus-size models walking alongside Daria Werbowy and Chanel Iman, but what I find so deeply perplexing is this notion that the integrity of fashion as a mirror for reality is somehow being compromised by the onslaught of thin models, and, even more baffling, that realism could be restored to fashion by showcasing heavier models. Both fashion experts seem to suggest that fashion could somehow be "real" if it were Lizzie Miller, the model in Glamour's now infamous September issue, wearing a $60,000 Chanel gown instead of the very thin Magdalena Frackowiak. Somehow, if it is a plus-size model sporting a $20,000 bag, suddenly realism has been restored and all is right with the world again. To this, I have to wonder, what has ever been "real" about high fashion??

Sure, it is real in the sense that it exists. I'm not denying the existence of Karl Lagerfeld or Alexander Wang here. Yet, with the constant use of the word "real," indicating curvy models, in describing the antidote to fashion's problems, it seems that critics are suggesting that the problem with fashion is not that it is out of touch with reality because the clothing is too expensive or that the topics in high fashion magazines are too extreme. No; the problem is that the models are too thin, and that is why fashion has lost touch with reality, after, presumably, representing real life all this time before.

If we look at the three main fashion magazines, Vogue, W, and Harper's Bazaar, we see that there is not an ounce of reality portrayed, and that is certainly not because the models are too thin. We read about Plum Sykes purchasing a bespoke suit (translation: really, really expensive suit) in London, the wedding of Vogue socialite Lauren Davis to the uber wealthy Andres Santo Domingo, the new $500 miracle face creams, and the It-Girls fresh off the private jet from Moscow or Rio. So, what, I have to wonder, is real or average about that? And could heavier models in the pages of the photo editorials somehow trump this? Ah, no. Of course not. But, how closely should fashion, fashion magazines, and models mimic the quotidian normalcy of everyday life? Would people even read Vogue if it were merely a glorified Pottery Barn catalog? Cancel my subscription the moment that happens!

For me, the great joy in fashion has always been that it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with reality. There is an element of escapism one feels when reading Harper's Bazaar or W that cannot be easily achieved through other outlets. Maybe that is what I love most about fashion. It has the power to transform the dull and average into something wondrously beautiful. Like Valentino said, "I love beauty. It's not my fault."

In short, fashion has never ever reflected reality, but the reason for this has never been, nor ever will be, because the models are too thin. Fashion has always been about fantasy.

Anna Wintour and Michelle Obama: Bringing Fashion Back to D.C.

When I read that Anna Wintour had been appointed to some kind of committee in the White House, my interest in politics legitimately piqued for the first time in, well, ever. Usually when a political topic comes up, I hit the metaphorical snooze button with lightning speed.

NY Magazine's fashion blog, The Cut, reported a few days ago that Anna would be serving on the Committee on the Arts and Humanities along with SJP and other leaders in the fashion and arts worlds. The committee will be representing the interests of fashion, arts, and other cultural fields.

Does this mean that D.C. might be turning into a fashion-focused city a la Paris or Milan? I don't know if we can go that far, but it is still good news for the fashion community. I'm not surprised that Anna has been asked to join the committee, which First Lady Michelle Obama will be chairing (even if only as an honorary chair). Michelle Obama has done much for American fashion already in her short time in the White House. Instead of de la Renta and Michael Kors, we have a first lady who is wearing Jason Wu, Isabel Toledo, and even J.Crew. Could it be that Michelle Obama might be the catalyst for interest in fashion in the same way that SATC led the average American viewer to have the previously esoteric name of Manolo Blahnik rolling off the tongue? I genuinely believe so, and not just because I adore Michelle Obama so much (I love, love, LOVE Michelle Obama!).

With Anna Wintour and Michelle Obama in the White House, fashion finally has an unbeatable duo representing its interests. I, for one, am thrilled.

Lima or Louboutins? My age-old dilemma continues...

I am searching for fall and winter boots for the first time...ever. I've never been one for boots, always preferring flats or heels with textured tights to keep me warm through the cold months. It may seem silly to wear tights and flats through snow and sleet, but I'm constantly in a knee-length skirt or dress, so it just makes better sense for my formal style.

Yet, this season, with an influx of boots in all shapes and sizes (over-the-knee, ankle, "shooties"), I thought it would be both fashionable and, well, practical to branch out of my comfort zone and into fabulous boots. I'm keen on two different and distinct styles: slouchy suede or leather boots that I can wear over denim (I initially fought this trend once it popped up in the U.S., but why fight what actually works?) and dressy "shooties" or ankle boots for holiday parties and functions.

Thanks to the fine buyers at Bergdorf Goodman, I have already stumbled upon two fantastically chic ankle boots that would both jazz up my winter wardrobe... and stymie my travel plans for 2010. My winter line-up is in desperate need of some festive embellishments and additions, but my boyfriend and I had discussed taking a trip (anywhere in the world- my choice!) to celebrate our five-year anniversary in March. Sure, I would love to splurge on either of these shoe styles, but Hong Kong, Lima, or Istanbul potentially await. And, at close to $1600 for the above shoes, that's our airfare!

So, here, for all to covet, are the shoes that could possibly leave my passport a stamp or two short next year.

(Photo is off to the right, as I'm still dealing with technical difficulties with uploading images. I may have mentioned before that I'm more of a pen-and-Moleskine writer than blogger, so I'm still not proficient with the ins and outs of the blogger website.)

At Last, At Last: "Coco Before Chanel"

After months of beginning each day in the office by watching the trailer to "Coco Before Chanel" (much like I did with "The September Issue" and the Valentino documentary), the wait is finally over. I saw Anne Fontaine's wonderful film last night, and was both surprised and delighted.

I was surprised by the film because I thought it would have focused more on Chanel's work and career, not to mention her rise to the pinnacle of the fashion world. I was expecting to see a scene on her rivalry with Christian Dior or Elsa Schiaparelli and more explanations regarding her transition from designing hats in Deauville to her feat in presenting her signature collection in Paris. It seemed that in one scene we are shown her early career in hat-making...and then ten minutes later Chanel is in her rue Cambon office presenting an entire collection of dresses, tweed jackets, and elegant ball gowns- all of the classics which have defined her aesthetic. I would have liked to have seen more development here. No attention was paid to her long absence from fashion during WWII or how she made her triumphant comeback after 30 years away from the industry.

Yet I was delighted with the focus on the more personal attributes and characteristics of this great couturier, the lesser-known Chanel, if you will. Audrey Tautou's performance was impeccable, and it is impossible to imagine how any other actress could have captured Chanel in such an alluringly accurate way. There was a fierce independence streak and fiery attitude in Chanel to which I could deeply relate. Not only was Audrey Tautou a perfect physical match to Chanel, but she portrayed all of these qualities authentically and convincingly.

Perhaps the most significant part of the film was Chanel's relationship with the Englishman Arthur "Boy" Capel, for this is what the viewer remembers most. The film didn't really gain momentum until Boy emerged and it quickly lost interest with his departure from the screen. Introduced to Capel while she was the live-in "geisha" to the wealthy Etienne Balsan, Coco and Boy soon fell in love. Their relationship was complicated by many factors- Coco's position in the Balsan household, Boy's friendship with Balsan, Boy's upcoming nuptials, etc., etc. It was never meant to be, and Chanel knew this, saying, "I always knew I'd never be anyone's wife." The young Coco was correct in her prediction, for Chanel never married.

The significance of Coco's relationship with Boy reminded me of other biopics of famous female artists that have emerged on screen recently. In "Becoming Jane," it is not Jane Austen's work that captivates the viewers most, but her heartbreaking realisation that she and the love of her life, Tom LeFroy, can never be together. In "La Vie en Rose," the biopic on Edith Piaf, I most recall the scene in which her great love dies tragically. The same is the case in both "Miss Potter" and even "Iris," the biopic on Iris Murdoch, in which a young Iris Murdoch declares, "You are my world," to her future husband, John Bayley. Their talent and artistic contributions were not overshadowed by their relationships, but the viewer fully grasps the monumental impact of the respective men in their lives and work.

Perhaps this is because it is the relationships one has with friends, family, and lovers that truly define a life, even an exemplary one like that of Gabrielle Chanel, arguably the greatest couturier to ever live. The greatest, in my opinion.

Though the film was full of surprises and even omissions, Chanel's impact on fashion was always made clear. Whether she was in a simple striped shirt cinched at the waist with a bow, a white blouse and pearls, or a long dress without *gasp* a corset, Chanel was indeed portrayed as a woman ahead of her time. And the film never missed the mark in conveying this.

Preparing for "Coco Before Chanel"

"Coco Before Chanel," the biopic on the iconic designer starring Audrey Tautou, is now in theatres across the country. So, yes, the long wait is finally over! Before viewers waltz in to see the film, possibly knowing little about the real woman herself, I thought it would be wise to revisit some of the other biographical material already available on Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel as sort of a primer before the main event. The film is sub-titled so non-French speaking viewers may already feel a bit lost during the movie. Here is my attempt to provide the foundation for an outstanding viewing of "Coco Before Chanel."

Chanel in Film

The 2008 biopic, "Coco Chanel," starring Shirley MacLaine, is a wonderful place to begin. The movie originally debuted on Lifetime in 2008 and is now available on DVD. I know that Shirley MacLaine, who played the adult Chanel, was supposed to be the undisputed star of this production, but I actually thought that Brigitte Boucher, who played the younger Chanel, was far better at portraying the real-life Chanel. Ms. Boucher's Chanel was believable, heart-felt, and undeniably strong. As for the movie itself, it was both inspirational and emotional while being true to the designer's life. The ending is particularly bittersweet when the viewer fully grasps the indelible legacy of the great Gabrielle Chanel. Yes, I had glistening tears during the Chanel retrospective.

Clocking in at just over two hours, this is a wonderful place to begin one's education on Chanel.

Chanel in Print

If you have time to read about Chanel's life before seeing the film, I would highly recommend beginning with the definitive biography on her life by Axel Madsen, "Chanel: A Woman of Her Own." Now available in paperback, this biography traces Chanel's life from birth through the height of her career to her place at the pinnacle of the world of haute couture. The biography is also sprinkled with the names of high society doyennes, world leaders, iconic musicians, and other characters who floated in and out of Chanel's life. This book truly belongs in the collection of any true fashion lover's home library, but if you have not read it yet, now is your chance.

I would also recommend reading "Chanel and Her World" by Edmonde Charles-Roux, a former editor-in-chief of French Vogue. Not available in paperback, this book is a bit more expensive (Amazon.com has it listed for $37.80) but ultimately worth reading. Charles-Roux was fortunate enough to be an intimate friend of Chanel, so the tributes and reflections are unique to this biography. If the hardback price is a bit daunting, perhaps one's local library will carry this gem of a book.

Chanel in Retrospect

The Metropolitan Museum of Art curated a collection of the couturier's work in 2005 and, fortunately for those of us who did not make the voyage to Manhattan for the viewing, a book was created to commemorate the historic event. With curators like Andrew Bolton and Harold Koda (two of my absolute idols), you know the presentation will be of immeasurable quality. With photographs of the collection and contributors like Karl Lagerfeld (!!!), the corresponding book certainly does not disappoint. If this piece is not already in your personal collection, it is available through Amazon.com's marketplace sellers and, of course, is likely to be found in your local library.

Chanel Lives

The legacy of Gabrielle Chanel is not only found in film, books, and museum collections. In fact, the contributions of Chanel are felt all around us. As one of the most significant and influential artists of the twentieth century, her life lives on and, thanks to Karl Lagerfeld, an entirely new generation of fashion and art connoisseurs have been exposed to the wonder and allure of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel.

Chanel will always have a special place in my heart. After viewing "Coco Before Chanel," I hope this eminent designer, artist, forward-thinker, and woman will have a fond place in yours as well.